Sleepless
by MyOwnWorstCritic
Summary: He couldn't believe his eyes and couldn't believe she was there, so he called out to her. She didn't smile like she usually did, but he wasn't expecting her to, either. Dawn/Charles, take rating seriously.


**Great big thanks to my lovely two Tumblr friends who helped me finish this!**

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It was the middle of the night when he heard his front door creak open and shut. He had been on his way back to his bedroom but decided a detour was in order. When he descended the stairs he almost couldn't believe his eyes.

"Dawn?" She didn't smile like she usually would, but he wasn't expecting her to, either. "How did you get in?" He stood in front of her and the tension flowing between them could be cut with a knife.

"We have our powers back, Charles." She sighed. "I'm not using them for evil."

Her eyes fluttered away from his at her last words and he was grateful that she couldn't see the flash of despair in his eyes.

"I couldn't sleep," she said softly. She looked down, fidgeting, not sure if she should speak the next words or not.

He could sense her unease just as he could sense that she was holding something back. "What is it, Dawn?" he asked softly, and she noted with gratefulness that his tone wasn't impatient.

"I can't fall asleep without you." If he wasn't watching her lips he would have completely missed it.

She ran a hand through her hair and sighed when he didn't respond, already turning to go. She regretted the idea of coming to his house until his hand clasped into hers and he tugged her with him.

She turned to him with surprise in her eyes and he motioned his head towards the stairs.

"I can't sleep without you either," he said quietly and she had to close her eyes to contain herself.

She leaned into him and wanted to kiss him, but wasn't sure if he'd want her to so she resisted, instead going up the stairs towards his bedroom.

While she was undressing he went to his closet and got her one of his shirts. She had blushed the first time he'd caught her, but he found that sure enough, she loved sleeping in his shirts, even if she had her own sleepwear.

"Thank you," she said after she slipped into the shirt.

He had already slipped into bed, so she untucked what was deemed 'her' side of the bed and slid in, almost hesitant to get too close to him. She was laid with her back to him, her legs curled up slightly.

"Dawn..."

She turned her head to look at him and found him also on his side, facing her. She turned onto her back to look at him better.

"Please don't tiptoe around me."

It was really all the encouragement she needed because she scooted closer to him and laid her head on his bare shoulder. His hand came up and wrapped around her to anchor her in place.

"I am mad at you."

He turned his head so he could press his lips against her forehead as he closed his eyes, remorse falling over him like never before.

"I know," he whispered. "And I'm sorry for what I said."

"I'm sorry for getting you to that point where you had nothing else to say than what you did."

Her breath hitched at the end; he could feel a quiver run down her spine. His throat constricted and he just could not tamper down on the guilt.

His hand moved upwards and buried itself in her hair, cradling her head so he could tilt it up and look at her properly. "Dawn, I am so sorry for what I insinuated."

He saw her eyes fill with tears right before she moved her head and broke their eye contact.

"But you were right."

"No, I wasn't," he said strongly.

He saw a sad smile spread over her face.

"Not about _that_," she said, voice constricting as memories of his angry words flashed through her mind. "About the other thing."

"What other thing?" he asked, confused.

"Before, I would have used magic for bad. I used to, at least."

"And now?" he asked, knowing it could ruin the already fragile conversation they were having, but also knowing that everything needed to be clear, for both of them.

"I feel like we've been trying to get back our powers for years and now..." She trailed off, shaking her head lightly.

"And now what?" he asked encouragingly.

"And now I don't even really want it."

"Because of us?" he asked gingerly, not sure if the term was even still applicable.

"Mainly."

"We got into huge fights before we had our powers back, what's changed?"

She chuckled, making him frown in confusion. She looked up to see him and laughed. He couldn't keep frowning because the sound was just too beautiful coming from her lips.

"Everything has changed."

"I don't want to lose you," he said out of the blue, making her throat constrict and preventing her from saying anything else. "We're just going to have to be one of those couples who fight. A lot." She chuckled, lightly shaking her head. "This time I was being a..."

"An insensitive bastard," she easily supplied, making his fingers tighten behind her head.

He didn't repeat her words, choosing to move on with his sentence, "But last time you were being really mean and this isn't my way of justifying what I said, it's just to point out that we're going to say things in the heat of the moment."

He moved his hands so he framed her face and made sure she was looking at him before speaking his next words. "But even though we're fighting, I'll still love you."

"Charles..." she said softly, not sure how to respond. Instead, she leaned up and kissed him, pulling away far too soon for his liking. "You're not forgiven yet."

"I wasn't expecting to be," he replied, his arm falling around her again as she settled over him. He took it as a good sign when she tangled their legs together. "Dawn?" he asked softly.

"Hmm?" she replied, her eyes sliding closed.

"I don't want you to regret opening up to me and letting me in," he said softly, even though it was the one thing they never, ever talked about.

She sighed, tilting her head up again to look at him. It had been hard, letting herself be vulnerable around him—around another person, really—for the first time in years. "I don't."

She saw him smile and let him kiss her briefly.

"Good night," he whispered when she settled once again.

"I love you too, Charles," she whispered softly.

The arm wrapped around her seemed to twitch, before relaxing and she knew that a smile was plastered over her face.

Half an hour later, both were still wide awake.

She was absentmindedly drumming a beat on his chest with her fingers, until his hand clasped over hers.

"You're driving me insane."

"I can't sleep," she said, ignoring his statement.

"Neither can I." He moved so he could glance at the clock on his bedside table.

She pulled away from his embrace and sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard. She stretched her legs out in front of her and linked her ankles, her gaze falling to his body in the process. He had stayed lain like he was but had crossed his arms under his head.

Her hand fell to the back of his scalp as she lightly ran her fingers through his hair.

The situation was disconcertingly domestic to her, so she did the only thing she knew how to in a situation making her uncomfortable. She misbehaved.

The return of their powers meant that the ones still alive had gotten individual power, since there weren't enough for a full circle. It was really handy to have her powers back, and in times like these it made her life so much more fun.

She soundlessly chanted out a few words, smiling when she saw his pajama pants inch down a little.

His gaze snapped to hers and she could almost curse herself that he noticed.

"Dawn?"

"Yes?" she asked innocently, avoiding his gaze. She turned her head when she felt him sit up next to her, but when her eyes traveled down his pants were gone.

"If you wanted me to take off my pajama pants all you had to do was ask," he said, humor laced in his tone. He couldn't help but try to kiss the smile off her face.

His hand pressed into her hip making her moan, granting him access to her mouth as he deepened their kiss. He had noticed, from the beginning, that she had this need to touch and be touched all over when kissed, so it came as no surprise to him when she straddled him, hands coming up to wrap around his neck.

With agility she didn't think he was capable of he unbuttoned the shirt she was wearing. He didn't push it off her shoulders, choosing to let it just hand open as his hands explored her skin and body.

She breathlessly pulled away, but his lips strayed, moving to nip and kiss down her jawline, neck and collarbone. His arms encircled her waist and just as she thought he would move lower, her stomach grumbled.

They both laughed, sufficiently put off so she climbed off him and consequently off the bed. He joined her, leading her down the stairs and to the kitchen. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms, watching her flit through his kitchen. She opened his fridge and he knew that she bent down at that angle just for him.

"Charles?" she asked, head appearing again. "Why is there tofu in your fridge?"

"Diana had a vegetarian phase a few years back. I've always kept a packet in the fridge, just in case," he clarified.

"Faye had a phase like that too, except she was ten and wouldn't eat anything that wasn't red." Her head peeked back out from behind the fridge door when he laughed. She reached in and produced a plastic bowl of yoghurt. "Yours?"

"Diana's." She was about to set it back, when he spoke again, "Eat it."

She watched as he walked over to a cupboard and grabbed an identical plastic bowl of yoghurt, ripping off the factory wrapping and setting it in the fridge.

"Thank you," she said, smiling when he handed her a spoon. She ate the yoghurt quietly, both of them watching each other. She spooned some of the food up, holding it up between them, silently offering him some.

He pushed off of the counter and walked over to her, his hand curling over hers as they maneuvered the spoon into his mouth. Some yoghurt still ended up not in his mouth, so she reached up and wiped it away with her thumb, sticking the finger into her mouth to clean it.

Her eyes never left his while doing this and he could see her eyes twinkling. He placed his arms on each side of her on the counter, effectively trapping her. She nonchalantly continued eating while he stood there invading her personal space.

When she was done she pushed him backwards, moving to toss the spoon in the sink and throw away the bowl.

He turned to look at her and before he had a chance to do anything she was kissing him. Her eyes were closed and her hands were on his shoulders to keep him close. His hand instinctively moved to the small of her back to keep her in place as he bent over her to kiss her properly.

When she was pressed up against the fridge door by him, her leg moved up to curl around his thigh and the sensation of their skin toughing sent ripples of pleasure through both of them. A magnet clattered to the floor, causing them to break apart.

"Dawn..." he started, but she cut him off with a quick kiss to his lips. She moved her leg down his all the way so they barely brushed against each other, and he took the opportunity to put the magnet back on the refrigerator door.

His hand trailed down her arm to clasp her hand in his, making her look down and smile, emotions almost overwhelming her.

"Take me to bed, Charles."


End file.
